I wasn't specifically referring to those days alone, it was the case, no longer is that work which attracted those consistent intrusions on family time and important cultural events was at least compensated. It isn't now. For the record, I have flown charter, corporate and line flying for a major carrier. I've also worked corporate, Desks have complications but they rarely run out of fuel. The sorts of targets see things like:
- Time free of duty ought be just that. Former colleagues tell me the company slipped in a little clause which finishes them at 2300 before a day off with a 0500 sign option after the day off. As I said, limits are targets. 500 quid for a minute into a day off, good luck with that and not even a local night in your own bed.
- Paid flight credit hours but sick leave was duty hours. Go sick on a capital city return with a three hour payment, deduct seven hours from your 80 hour annual total..Do a bigger day and lose almost 1/5 of your annual sick leave budget on one day.... Certainly no longer equated to 10 days of paid sick leave like the office staff were given.
- If a flight was cancelled you don't get paid, booted and spurred completing fuel ordering, flight cancelled, thanks for coming. Duties at 0500 attracting a payment credit of 1 hour and 50 minutes, no minimum duty payment, cancel one of those sectors and the 1 hour 50 minute payment is halved.
As I said limits are targets.
At every contractual 'negotiation' progressively terms and conditions were eroded, collective bargaining was effectively a trade off for any nominal (far less than real) inflation increase. It has been thus in most industries for the last 30 years.
- When minimum legal rest was 10 hours arriving at 2200 local. 'Rest period' commenced at brakes parked +15 mins. Sign on the following morning was only commenced at 60 minutes before departure, pray tell how someone gets 8 hours rest when their commute time to and from a hotel (including check in) is 'rest period'?
Maybe in 1980 500 pound payments existed. Line pilots no longer get those payments, I certainly didn't. If one prefers the noble pursuit of administration, last time I checked weekends and all holidays were still free. Any wonder the industry ate its own tail; there was no longer the recompense, at least in Asia and Oceania.
Further, go and look at the wages outcomes on any major western carrier in the last twenty years and deflate it for inflation, real wage declines and erosion of terms is consistent across jurisdictions. Flying was fun the corporation and consistent erosion of terms and conditions drivien by HR/ bean counters made it far less tolerable.